Speaking With...

The LGBTI community has unique needs that are often overlooked during the response and recovery stages of a natural disaster event. euphoriadev via Flickr, CC BY-NC-NDWhen natural disasters strike, the impact varies significantly across different social groups, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) communities are poorly accounted for in disaster management policy and practice. Dallas Rogers speaks with Scott McKinnon on the different needs of the LGBTI community during a natural disaster event, and how emergency services, policy-makers and aid agencies can better respond to LGBTI populations. Scott McKinnon is a Research Fellow on an Australian Research Council funded project investigating the experiences of LGBTI people in natural disasters. If you have found any of the issues raised in this discussion to be distressing or traumatic, we strongly suggest contacting a trained counsellor. Counsellors are available through the following services: QLife - Ph: 1800 184 527 (free call,